Problem: Subtract. $32 - 15.4 =$
There are many ways to solve this problem. Let's see two ways we can solve it. Place Value We can think in terms of tenths: $\begin{aligned} &\phantom{=}32-15.4\\\\ &=32.0-15.4\\\\ &=320\text{ tenths} - 154\text{ tenths}\\\\ &=166\text{ tenths}\\\\ &=16.6 \end{aligned}$ Place value table Let's line up the numbers by their decimal places. Tens Ones $.$ Tenths $3$ ${2}$ $.$ ${0}$ $1$ $5$ $.$ ${4}$ Now, let's subtract each place value column. Tens Ones $.$ Tenths $\overset{2}{\cancel{3}}$ $\overset{1}{\cancel{{2}}}$ $.$ $\overset{10}{\cancel{{0}}}$ $-$ $1$ ${5}$ $.$ ${4}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $1$ $6$ $.$ $6$ $32 -15.4=16.6$